Umm, a quick beginner question, please.

[Arachnid-tiles]

Okay, I got a tarantula from the pet store the other night. I don't know the scientific name or whatever, but they told me it was a Chilean Rose Hair [ I think the Scientific Name is something like G Gramostola or something... But sorry if I'm like, way off. ]

Anyways, I've been told by the pet shop that they should eat 2 or 3 large​

crickets, every 2 or 3 days or so at her size - [ Which is about 2, maybe 3 inches from abdomen to mouth. ] - And that I should put in one cricket at a time, and keep doing so untill she's done.

But she ate more than seven cricket's the first night that I had her.​

And I've also heard that many animals can overfeed themselves purely on​

impulse.

Is it a problem that she's been eating so much?​

Or was she poorly cared for at the pet shop?​

P.S. Any help is greatly appreciated ​

 

[spider_fan]

Tarantula come from climates where food is either feast or famine. If they have access to food they will eat it, even to the point of eating themselves to death. 2 crickets every days is way too much food for a rose hair(Grammostola rosea), a much healthier diet would be 2-3 crickets every 2 weeks.

 

[Arachnid-tiles]

Wow. I hope he didn't gouge himself, then.
Well, in fear of this, I haven't fed him since.

So I guess I'll just wait another week or so for his next feeding?

I've had him for 3 day's so far.

Thanks for the help, Spider_Fan.

 

[cheetah13mo]

The genus name is Grammostola rosea. That many crickets the first night is ok but you should slow down a lot. 2 or 3 crickets every one or two weeks is more than enough. G. roseas often will fast for a few months to maybe over a year so don't let not eating alarm you. Just so long as the abdomen is on the plump side, she's fine. Eating that much does not mean the T was not well kept or under fed but I promise, you can take much better care of her. Just keep her dish full and give her a nice hide and you'll have a happy, healthy pet rock.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[Mina]

Welcome to the boards and to your first T!!!! As already stated, they really only need one to two crickets a week. That is more than enough. Petstores don't tend to feed them real well so yours is most likely hungry.
Don't worry to much about over feeding, just go to 1 to 2 crickets a week from now on.

 

[abarth]

Read this sticky to get some clues on how to take care of your G.rosea: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=5292

 

[phil jones]

hi i would now feed it in about 7 - 10 days from now my 5ins red knee gets one every 7 days and with water dish full she is full of bounce and life enjoy your new ( t ) and just ask if you need help as most of us will try to help in any way +++ phil

 

[Arachnid-tiles]

Alright, I'll limit the feeding more.

Thank you so much, everyone.

 

[Arachnid-tiles]

Oh, another quick question: They recomended these Cricket Gel Drink thing's, that look like squishy little ice cubes, as his/her water.

Is this suitable, or should I use standing water?

 

[Pyst]

For the crickets they would work I guess. A plain waterbowl with standing water is all you need for your spider. Don't use sponges or gel packs for them.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Oh, another quick question: They recomended these Cricket Gel Drink thing's, that look like squishy little ice cubes, as his/her water.

Is this suitable, or should I use standing water?

Spiders cannot drink that junk. Use water--and no sponge or anything in it, either.

 

[Arachnid-tiles]

Alright.

I only used it because they said they wouldn't house any kind of spider without one.

Sorry.

 

[elyanalyous]

hey Arachnid-tiles, don't worry about a single thing the petstore told you... just read that link that abarth posted. you will soon learn that petstores rarely know what they are talking about.

welcome to the hobby. if you post some pictures of your T's enclosure, we can give you the heads up on some potential problems.

 

[Arachnid-tiles]

Alright, I'll get som pics up later tonight.

 

[golda]

Trust the peoples word in this forum... they know way more than any other pet stores..

 

[EricFavez]

A-Tiles ...personally i have never heard of a tarantula eating itself to death. If a tarantula will eat 7+ crickets in a row than it was not properly cared for...I try to feed all my Ts once a day...at the least they get 3-4 meals a week. Its real simple if theyre not hungry than they wont eat...or if theyre coming up on a molt than they usually wont eat. I love my Ts to all be nice and fat..remember the more they eat the faster they grow.

 

[elyanalyous]

i only feed my G.rosea once a week... a T's lifespan is directly linked to the # of molts... so you don't want to rush them through the molts after they reach a manigable size (for me ~1" legspan)...

 

[P. Novak]

i only feed my G.rosea once a week... a T's lifespan is directly linked to the # of molts... so you don't want to rush them through the molts after they reach a manigable size (for me ~1" legspan)...

I thought Ts dont go by molts? I thought it was only scorps who had a number of molts.

I believe that Tarantulas molt till they die, unlike scorpions who stop molting when they mature? Which means the number of molts varies.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[elyanalyous]

i've read it several times on here... thats why you don't want to power feed your adult t's. they do molt in thier adult stages, but everytime they molt they are closer to thier death.

if you do a search containing "power feeding" you will come up with stuff like this... look for posts by windchaser, its generally posted by him.

 

[P. Novak]

I read that power feeding just shortens their lifespans just closer to maturity. I dont think Ts have a set number of molts before they die(unless they are male)